Trio of Takeaways from First Three Scrimmages for Razorbacks

Hogs conclude first weekend of warm-up games ahead of 2025 season

Arkansas third baseman Brent Iredale (10) runs the bases in the first spring scrimmage. | Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' first weekend of scrimmages are in the books. The Razorbacks have just three weeks to prepare for Washington State. Here are three takeaways from three abbreviated scrimmages.

Lineup and Rotation Preview:
The book is out on Arkansas. With most of the position battles won, Arkansas fielded most of its starters on the same team. The team with the starters (gray) won the first two games of the series, before the secondary team (cardinal) won Sunday's game. See attached box score for the breakdown of the lineups.

"Most of those guys are starters," Van Horn said about the gray team. "It's pretty obvious. I'm not trying to hide anything, we want those guys to play together."

Coach Dave Van Horn also tipped his potential starting rotation. Gabe Gaeckle threw on Friday, Zach Root on Saturday and Landon Beidelschies on Sunday. All three threw two innings each on their respective days. In the six innings combined, the potential starters only allowed one run.

Mystery First Base Candidate Revealed:
Van Horn hinted that there might be some non-traditional candidates at first base. Rocco Peppi and Diggs, both listed as outfielders on the official Arkansas roster, saw time at first. Peppi started all three games at first. Michael Anderson, a Rhode Island transfer whose primary position is first base, also saw time there. On a generally cold and miserable weekend, he hit one of just three home runs between the two teams and the only one over 400 feet.

Young Arms Shine:
Sunday's scrimmage allowed some of the younger freshmen arms to shine. Carson Wiggins battled some control issues and allowed three runs with two walks and a pair of wild pitches, but his fastball still topped out at 96-97 miles an hour in the frigid conditions. Ross Felder pitched two clean innings against the lineup of starters.

Injury Report:
Arkansas escaped the three games largely unscathed, although there are a few notes on the injury report. Aiden Jimenez made his first appearance on the mound after being sidelined with Tommy John recovery in the fall. Charles Davalan was removed from Saturday's scrimmage after attempting to make a play in center field. He did return for Sunday's scrimmage, but did not run the bases and moved to designated hitter. Outfielder Kendall Diggs, who has been getting some run at first base, also did not run the bases Sunday.

The Razorbacks will continue preseason preparations ahead of the 2025 season. The next scrimmage is tentatively scheduled for Friday.

Box score from Arkansas' first scrimmage from the 2025 season | Arkansas Athletics

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